WHAM is dedicated to funding women’s health research to transform women’s lives.

ABOUT US

WHAM is dedicated to funding women’s health research to transform women’s lives.

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Together we can drive change.

WHAM works with advocates, economists, scientists, business leaders, public health experts and policy makers to: Increase funding for women’s health research, empower women researchers to study and share sex and gender research, and build a data-driven case for accelerating women’s health research.

OUR INITIAL AREAS OF STUDY

We believe that when research reflects the differences between men and women down to the cellular level, we will improve the health and wealth of everyone. WHAM works across diseases that impact women differently and differentially. We started with a focus on brain health, heart health, immune and autoimmune health and cancer.

Autoimmune Disease

78% of Americans with autoimmune disease are women — it is estimated that 50 million people are afflicted.

Brain Health

A woman’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease is almost 2x that of a man, and not just because women live longer.

Cancer

Lung cancer is the #1 cause of cancer death in women. Non-smoking women more than 2x as likely as non-smoking men to get it.

Heart Health

Cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of women in the US, yet only 1/3 of the participants in clinical trials are female.

We know today that almost every disease affects women differently than it does men, because we know that every cell in the body has a sex. Yet we still don’t prioritize and invest in research that focuses on women or even includes women in sufficient numbers.

Stacey Rosen, MD
Katz Institute for Women’s Health, Northwell Health
Data Driven Analysis

THE WHAM REPORT

The WHAM Report is a series of studies that examine the impact of accelerating sex and gender–based health research on women, their families, and the economy. WHAM commissioned the RAND Corporation to study these impacts for: rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune), coronary artery disease (heart), Alzheimer’s disease (brain) and lung cancer (cancer).

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The WHAM Report shows that funding women’s health research has huge economic impacts. Investing $350 million generates $14 billion to our economy.

78%

of Americans with autoimmune diseases are women. Nearly 40 million women.

Yet just

7%

of the $86 million 2019 NIH rheumatoid arthritis budget went to women-focused research.

Women are

50%

more likely to die than men in the year following a heart attack.

Yet just

4.5%

of the $444 million 2019 NIH coranary artery disease budget went to women-focused research.

66%

of Alzheimer’s patients in the U.S. are women.

Yet just

12%

of the $2.4 billion 2019 NIH Alzheimer’s budget went to women-focused research.

Lung cancer diagnoses have risen a startling

84%

among women over the past 42 vears while dropping 36% among men over the same period.

Yet just

15%

of the $267 million 2019 NIH lung cancer budget went to women-focused research.

HOW TO HELP

Through donations, partnerships and direct actions, you can help make a difference in the lives of millions of women and their families.

Get Involved

WHAM is dedicated to funding women’s health research and investment to transform women’s lives.

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WHAM was created in response to the considerable funding gap, historical exclusion, and underrepresentation of women in health research.

CONTACT US

Marianne Foss-Skiftesvik
Chief of Staff & Strategic Partnerships
marianne@whamnow.org

Address
19 East Elm St
Greenwich CT 06830

Phone

914-645-5264

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Make a donation, join the community, or help us spread the word about WHAM and our work—every little bit helps, and we are deeply appreciative of your support.

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Download the latest WHAM Report study on gender bias and how it impacts women, their families and the economy.
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